It has been previously been proposed to inspect capsules and tablets automatically, and one prior system for accomplishing this function is disclosed in an article entitled "Automatic Color Inspection For Pharmaceuticals", by John J. Lee, Jr., Pharmaceutical Engineering, January-February, 1985. However, prior systems such as that disclosed in the above-identified article were somewhat inflexible, in that separate testing heads or "set-ups" were required for translucent capsules, as compared with opaque capsules, and the capsule position sensing arrangements were relatively coarse, and overly critical in their required adjustments.
Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a verification system for small objects, such as capsules or tablets, which is simpler, more reliable, and more versatile than previously proposed systems, and one which will measure the length of the objects, in addition to the color testing of the capsules or similar small objects.